Continuing miniaturization in the electronic industry is driving the features size of printed conductors smaller. To be able to print smaller conductors, the particle size of the conductive particles in inks have become smaller. In the manufacture of silver particles or colloids on a commercial scale, isolation of the dry product is an issue. There are reasonable techniques that work well for particles down to a micron, but below that isolation is difficult. A process that eases isolation would be of commercial value.
Processes known for the isolation of silver nanoparticles include filtration, centrifugation and spray drying. Filtration can become problematic or slow when the particle size is very small. Centrifugation compacts the particles into a single mass, often defeating the purpose of having made small particles. Spray drying can be an effective method of isolation if the particles will hold together resulting in no fines, but it provides no method of removing ionic byproducts.